FOLFIRINOX in Locally Advanced Pancreatic Cancer

First-line FOLFIRINOX (leucovorin, fluorouracil, irinotecan, oxaliplatin) is associated with median overall survival of approximately 2 years in patients with locally advanced pancreatic cancer, according to a systematic review and patient-level meta-analysis reported by Suker et al.1

The proportions of patients who underwent radiotherapy or chemoradiotherapy ranged from 31% to 100% across studies, the proportion who underwent resection ranged from 0% to 43%, and the proportion of those with R0 resection ranged from 50% to 100%.

The investigators concluded:

Patients with locally advanced pancreatic cancer treated with FOLFIRINOX had a median overall survival of 24.2 months—longer than that reported with gemcitabine (6–13 months). Future research should assess these promising results in a randomised controlled trial and should establish which patients might benefit from radiotherapy or chemoradiotherapy or resection after FOLFIRINOX.